German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday that the expulsion of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip would be “unacceptable”, after US President Donald Trump floated a plan to move them to Egypt and Jordan.
“In light of recent public statements, I say very clearly that any relocation plans — the idea that the citizens of Gaza will be expelled to Egypt or Jordan — is unacceptable,” Scholz said at a town hall event in Berlin.
Almost all of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million inhabitants have been displaced by the war that began with the Palestinian militant group Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Trump on Saturday put forward an idea to “clean out” Gaza after the conflict, and on Monday expressed his desire to move Palestinians from the war-torn territory to “safer” locations such as Egypt or Jordan.
Speaking Tuesday, Scholz reaffirmed his support for a two-state solution and said the Palestinian Authority should take responsibility for the Gaza Strip.
“Peace can only come about if there is the hope of a self-governing future,” Scholz said.
“All those who believe that there can be a chance for peace in the region that is not based on self-government for the West Bank and Gaza in a Palestinian state — that will not work,” he said.
